Chamber and committees

Our export growth plan, A Trading Nation, committed to evaluating the existing Trade & Investment Envoy network with a view to increasing the number of envoys from the four (at the time) to twelve. This would be subject to a review of the current arrangements and the identification of candidates with the right knowledge, experience and connections in the right markets to best support Scotland’s trade and investment ambitions.

There are currently 11 Trade & Investment Envoy based around the globe. The majority of Envoys are focused on promoting trade and investment within a specific market (Indonesia, Poland, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, New Zealand and the Unites States of America), while some have a sector-focus (International Higher Education and Capital Investment). A link to the current list of Trade and Investment Envoys can be found here .

Although the Scottish Government does not currently have any firm plans to grow the network, we are planning on evaluating the T&I Envoy Network to consider the markets and sectors within which they operate and this will inform the future focus and shape of the network.

Our seas must remain a source of prosperity for the nation, especially in our remote, coastal and island communities. It is vital that those communities help shape the creation of Highly Protected Marine Areas, which is why we chose to consult early on in the process.

We recognise there is considerable strength of feeling on this issue – from those who support it and those who have concerns. We are currently analysing responses to the public consultation and will consider these very carefully as we develop next steps.

We are also committed to ensuring that any future decisions on the creation of Highly Protected Marine Areas is informed by a robust process, supported by impact assessments, which provide a clear and transparent assessment of the economic, social and environmental effects of the policy.

In the meantime, I have committed to visiting coastal and island communities in the coming months to hear directly from those people who may be affected.

We will continue to engage directly with coastal and islands communities before any sites are proposed and we will work with those communities throughout the site selection process to ensure their concerns and views are listened to and understood.

The Scottish Government has not requested a progress update from the Scottish Civil Justice Council on its review of court rules in relation to Protective Expenses Orders. The Scottish Civil Justice Council is an independent body. Publicly available minutes of meetings of the Costs and Funding Committee on 26 May 2022 and 31 October 2022 record that detailed discussions took place about the court rules governing Protective Expenses Orders and drafting instructions were to be issued.

The Scottish Civil Justice Council is a body independent of the Scottish Government, which has responsibility for drafting rules of procedure for the civil courts. We will await the outcome of the current review before taking a view on whether the requirements of Article 9(4) of the Aarhus Convention and findings of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee in Decision VII/8s of October 2021 are addressed.

Work to develop the prospectus is drawing on a range of officials across the organisation who will contribute to varying extents as part of their wider responsibilities in supporting the Scottish Government. The exact number of officials contributing as part of their wider responsibilities cannot be set out as the Scottish Government has no need to record this information.

The Scottish Government is currently engaging with stakeholders taking into consideration their ambitions and priorities to develop an International Education Strategy which works for Scotland.

The regulation of consumer protection is reserved to the UK Government. As such, the Scottish Government does not hold the requested information.

However, the Scottish Government is determined to take action where it can to try and prevent consumers experiencing harm as a result of activity which breaches regulations, particularly throughout the cost of living crisis.

One of these actions is the funding of an Energy Efficiency Measures Coordinator Post in Trading Standards Scotland to support work in tackling energy marketing scams.

We recommend that householders should always call the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland service for advice before deciding to make energy efficiency improvements to their home.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18108 on 31 May 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Road safety remains an absolute priority for the Scottish Government. We remain determined that we continue to make investments which supports our Road Safety Framework to 2030, which sets out our vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030. This includes an ambitious long term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050.

The Scottish Government budget for 2023-24 includes over £31 million for road safety. This has been allocated to areas such as our Trunk Road Casualty Reduction Programme, our Safety Camera Programme, work to expand 20 mph areas in communities across Scotland and a Road Safety Improvement Fund which will support councils to reduce casualties and risks on their roads.

As at the end of the day 30 April 2023, there were 40,969 cardholders under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme in six local authority areas across the Highlands and Islands Region. Uptake against the estimated eligible population in each local authority area is as follows.

Argyll & Bute: 54.3%

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar: 46.6%

Highland: 46.4%

Moray: 54.9%

Orkney: 49.5%

Shetland: 66.7%

Cardholder data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO supports the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The figure includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile app.